Love You to Death
by Kurofandomhive
Summary: Ivan, an assassin, just moved to America with his sisters. Gilbert and his brother are German exchange students. They're attracted to each other like magnets, but Ivan feels guilty for hiding his 'profession' from Gilbert. When Ivan gets a client who's paying him five grand to kill Gilbert, what's more important? Family business, or his boyfriend? M for Violence and eventual Smut
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- For those who don't know- Rubles are the currency of Russia. 1 Ruble is about 62 cents, and 32000 rubles are about 2000 US dollars. And "Spasibo"is "Thank you" in Russian. **

The dimly-lit room was completely silent, save for the shuffling in the corner. It was much too dark to see what was happening in that corner, but the scarfed man sitting at the table at the center (the only lit thing in the room) smiled in content, knowing perfectly well what was going on. The sound was music to his ears, and for once that eerie smile plastered on his face was real. Gloved hands were folded and resting on the table as the man sat patiently, waiting for his repayment. A briefcase was slammed shut and flung onto the table rather loudly, but Ivan Braginski didn't so much as flinch as the sudden noise. A gruff-looking man sat in the creaky chair across from the one Ivan was currently sitting in. An equally gruff-voice with a thick Russian accent broke the silence.

"There it is, Braginski. 32000 rubles," Abramov said, patting the suitcase. "It's all yours. Now, please, not to be rude, but you're going to stain my floors if you don't get out of here. You're dripping blood all over the place."

Ivan blinked and looked down at himself, then chuckled lightly. The sound send shivers running down the other man's spine. "My apologies," an equally-Russian voice replied as Ivan stood up and grabbed the suitcase. "I'll take my leave now. A pleasure doing business with you. You know how to contact me should you require my services again." Ivan gave a curt nod and a wave before turning to leave.

"Spasibo, Braginski. I'll be sure to get in touch with you," the other man said as Ivan walked out the door. Though the scarfed man couldn't see it, there was a malevolent smirk on his face. Not that Ivan really needed to see that smirk to know full well he'd been lied to. Despite there being a blizzard outside, the man sat on the ground and opened the suitcase right outside Mr. Abramov's door. It only took about a minute and a half to count it all up. 16000. Not 32, but of the price of the assassination. Ivan laughed; did that man really think he'd get away with such foul play?

Abramov's screams were heard throughout the whole block that night- well, would have been, if not for that wonderfully loud snow storm. Ivan chuckled lightly and as he snatched the other 16000 rubles from the dead body and left the house without another word. On second thought, he'd killed another man, so shouldn't he be paid more? Yes, certainly. And the money wouldn't be of any use to Abramov now that he was dead, so why not?

And so, Ivan Braginski had earned an extra- how much was left in the house? Another 32000! Delightful. 64 thousand rubles in one night, added to however much his younger sister made (which was probably a lot, considering how much of a skilled assassin Natalia was.) His older sister, Kat, not so much. At most, the poor, innocent girl had killed an old grandfather for a family trying to get inheritance or the contents of a will. And those kinds of jobs hardly paid more than thirty-thousand rubles.

It was with great caution that Ivan entered his house, carefully removing his bloody scarf and coat. He was as silent as possible; he knew Natalia would be in bed by now and didn't want to wake her, lest she decide to have another one of her possessive outbursts. He snuck into the kitchen to grab something to eat before heading to bed, only to find his older sister sitting at the table and looking rather forlorn. Her eyes lit up at the sight of her brother, but the smile on her face was sad.

"Kat? What's wrong?" Ivan asked in concern, sitting beside her and furrowing his eyebrows worriedly.

"Vanya…" she said quietly. Ivan's stomach lurched. There were only a few select times when he'd heard that nickname. Never had it meant a good thing. The first time he'd heard his sister call him that was when she explained to him that his puppy had been run over by a truck. The second time had been to tell him that his parents had abandoned them. The third time, well…needless to say, it meant bad news as well. "Vanya…our parents weren't our only family." The sentence was far from relieving to Ivan; as good as that sounded, he knew it would only go downhill from there. "….We have grandparents in America, and they've found us. They want us to move there with them." This was still the good news part of the story, Ivan could tell.

"What's the bad part, then?" Ivan inquired, and Kat didn't bother questioning how he knew there was a bad part- she knew as well as he did what the nickname "Vanya" meant.

"They are also assassins. They're in an American group of hit men and they want us to join."

"You're telling me we have to abandon our organization? You realize they will hunt us down if we leave, don't you, Kat?"

"Yes, Vanya…that's why we have to secretive about moving."

"Why must we move anyway? Can't we just ignore our grandparents and-"

"No, Vanya. That's not a good idea, and…I think it would be good for you and Natalia if we moved. She wouldn't even have to be an assassin anymore! Besides, you can hide the fact that you kill people there. You can go to high school and live a normal life, and so can Natalia."

Kat herself was past high school age, but she certainly wished the best for her younger siblings. She smiled sadly and sighed. "Americans are idiots; they'll be easy to kill," she suggested something positive, like usual. It did very little to heighten Ivan's mood, but there simply wasn't much she could do about the whole situation.

"I'm sure everything will be fine," he said with a fake smile. If he assured Kat he was okay, she'd be okay. "I'm going to bed now. I suggest you do the same. Good night, Kat."

"Night, Vanya." Ivan turned and walked down the hallway to his bedroom, only to be stopped by a short, blonde figure. Dark blue eyes glared up at him, shooting daggers but at the same time full of love…if obsession could be called that.

"I heard you talking with Kat, Brother. I do not care where we live, but I don't want you talking to her alone anymore. She's trying to steal you from me." With that, Natalia turned on her heel and went back to her own bedroom. Ivan stood a bit shocked for a moment before shaking his head and retiring himself.


	2. Chapter 2

The loud buzzing of an alarm clock was hardly enough to wake the sleeping albino at seven in the morning, but the shouting of his brother was more than enough to get him out of bed.

"I'm getting up, I'm getting up, sheesh!"

"If you're not ready in twenty minutes, I'm leaving without you."

"Aw, come on, Lud, that's-"

"I MEAN IT!"

"Okay, geez! Get the stick out of your ass!"

Gilbert sighed and glanced at himself in the bathroom mirror. His white hair stood up in random places, but there wasn't much he could do about that- not in less than twenty minutes, anyway. He quickly flattened it out as best as he could before brushing his teeth and rushing to get dressed, (a wrinkled t-shirt and a pair of jeans left on the floor) getting rushed by Ludwig the entire time.

"Stop your nagging!" He groaned as they left the house. Ludwig persisted lecturing him all the way down the street, until Gilbert threatened to push him into the bushes and run off without him. They were at the doors of their high school when they heard a bell ringing from the inside.

"Shit! We're gonna be late!"

"Nah, we'll be fine, Lud! Just do what I do- skip stopping by your locker and go straight to class!"

"I need my Science book for first period, and it's in my lock-"

"Calm down, the teacher's not gonna notice if you don't have it! Hell, as many times as I-"

Gilbert was interrupted by the second bell, indicating anyone who wasn't currently in class was late. Ludwig let out an exasperated sigh and left his brother, running straight to his first period class without another word. The albino shook his head and chuckled; his brother really needed to work on getting that stick out of his ass. He yawned and made his way to his first period casually, not worrying about his lateness at all. He figured he could make up some lame excuse and get out of it, but just as he was coming up with one he ran smack into something-no, some_one_.

"Sorry," he mumbled, side-stepping around whoever he'd run into and continuing to class.

"W-Wait," a voice called him back. Gilbert sighed in annoyance and turned back around. The guy he'd run into was tall- very tall- and wearing a scarf. Why the hell would anyone be wearing a scarf in this heat?

"What? I'm trying to get to class here!" The albino honestly didn't care about being rude.

"Sorry to bother you…I just need help finding my first class…"

"You new or something?" Gilbert resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I probably can't answer your question, I'm fairly new here too."

"Really? I thought you sounded German."

"Yup, my little bro and I are from Germany. And you're…Russian, right?"

The tall guy looked a bit shocked. "Y-yes. How'd you-?"

"Easy, your accent. Anyway, where are you headed?"

"….Math," the Russian guy replied. "You?"

"Same. Maybe we have the same class. You got Jones?" Gilbert stepped over to the guy and looked over his schedule. "Yup. So we do have the same class. Maybe we can make up some lame excuse for being late together," he chuckled and began to walk down the hallway, waving for the other to follow. "Anyway, I'm Gilbert." The Russian sped up a bit so that he walking beside the other.

"Ivan," he replied. "Didn't you say you had a brother? Does he also go here?"

"Yup, Ludwig. He's two years younger than us, but he's always been smarter and-"

"Beilschmidt, you're late! By almost ten minutes! Why are you-?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I was, uh…helping Ivan around since he's new," Gilbert explained quickly. He smiled innocently at the teacher, who scowled but decided to let it slide. The albino quickly sat down and motioned for Ivan to sit down beside him. The Russian complied, deciding that he rather liked this albino boy quite a lot. He glanced over at Gilbert, who was secretly texting underneath his book, and smiled. Yes, he really liked this albino boy.


	3. Chapter 3

The sound of the bell ringing caused Gilbert to almost fall out of his chair. He'd been so focused on his phone he hadn't even looked up from it the entire class. Luckily, no one noticed and he was able to stuff his phone into his pocket nonchalantly without anyone so much as glancing at him (at least to his knowledge.)

"Ivan, you coming or what?" He called over his shoulder as he walked out of the door. "Hurry up or we'll be late."

As much as Ivan hated being rushed, he was surprised to find that he felt no urge to stab Gilbert thirty-seven times in the chest. He simply rolled his eyes and followed the albino out of the classroom. Said albino immediately began talking, telling some meaningless ramble of a story. Ivan nodded or added an "Mm-hm" every now and then, only pretending to listen. He was much more interested in how loud and obstreperous the German was; how could someone be so short and scrawny-and rather cute- and act so over-confident and arrogant? Ivan couldn't help but find it adorable. Really, after the countless brutal-looking men he'd killed, it was incredible how someone like Gilbert could be so ostentatious.

"…And it was then, of course, that the awesome me learned something I must never tell anyone!" The sentence brought Ivan back into reality.

"Really? Tell me," he implored with a simper. What kind of 'secrets' could this dense boy hold?

"Uh, no. That's why I said, 'something I must never tell anyone.' Dumbass," Gilbert laughed and shook his head. While his rudeness was cute, it was beginning to get on Ivan's nerves just slightly. There was that, and the fact that Ivan's curiosity was starting to peek. Really, why would you tell someone you have a secret if you weren't planning on telling them anyway? With that thought, Ivan glanced around quickly before grabbing the albino's shoulder and pulling him into the bathroom. Before Gilbert could even begin to protest, he was slammed against the wall. Ivan leaned closer so that the German could feel his breath on his ear.

"Now, why would you tell someone you have a secret if you don't plan on telling them?" Ivan asked in a dangerous whisper, voicing his previous thought.

"I-I-Ivan what the fuck is wrong with you?! Get off me! This is so gay-"

Gilbert suddenly stopped talking and his face went bright red. He swallowed hard and tried to pull his hands out of Ivan's grasp. "L-Let me go, weirdo."

"Why so nervous? I'm just messing around," Ivan jeered, but of course the tone of his voice said otherwise. "Just tell me that secret of yours or I'll have to force it out of you." Ivan really didn't know what he was doing, but first with Gilbert's attitude and now with his blushing, mortified face, the Russian couldn't actually bring himself to care. Gilbert was ridiculously adorable and it almost pissed Ivan off.

"Th-this is not messing around. This is you being a fucking freak," Gilbert spat. "Now let me the fuck go!"

"You haven't told me your secret yet," Ivan replied simply. Th German's face reddened a bit more once the subject had been brought up again.

"F-Fine, I'll tell you, whatever. But if you tell _anyone _I swear I will kill you." Ivan couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of the statement. Regardless, he let the squirming albino go and crossed his arms expectantly, his eyes daring him to try and escape. Gilbert sighed. If he didn't tell him now, they'd end up being late to class _again. _"Alright, Ivan…The awesome me will say this again- You better not fucking tell anybody. Got it?"

"I won't tell a soul," Ivan replied truthfully. He really didn't care about rumors or gossip or any of that- he just wanted to know what kind of moronic 'secret' Gilbert was 'hiding.' However, the next three words that fell from the German's lips proved his 'secret' to be far from moronic. It was the kind of secret that could get you disowned by your family if you were unlucky enough. It was the kind of secret that get someone so severely bullied that they were forced to move to another school. Maybe even school _district_.

"…I'm…gay, alright?" Ivan was speechless for a moment. What do you say to someone who just begrudgingly told you their sexuality? It made matters worse when he'd practically forced the albino to tell him. Gilbert looked up at the Russian slightly annoyed, his eyes screaming, "Well, you wanted to know, asshole. There you have it."

"…Alright, then," Ivan said with a shrug after a moment.

"'Alright, then'? That's all you have to say?" Gilbert sounded rather relieved.

"Well, yes. I don't think of you any differently. And if it makes you feel any better, I also like men."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Gilbert asked, rather shocked.

"Why didn't _you _tell _me_?" Ivan countered with a smirk. "Anyway, since that's settled, I suggest we get to class. We have…" The Russian glanced down at his watch. "…Thirty seconds."

"Shit!" The German was halfway down the hallway before Ivan could grab his notebook from the floor. Chuckling, he chased after Gilbert, catching up to him rather quickly. "Where are you going?"

"Physics. You?"

"Language Arts. I'll catch up with you at lunch," Ivan replied. Gilbert nodded and turned to walk away, but before he could, Ivan grabbed his shoulders and kissed his forehead. The German went red and just as the bell rang, Ivan winked and ran off. Gilbert could only stand there speechless for several moments, not even caring if he was going to be late.

"Please tell me there's no way in hell I like this guy…"


	4. Chapter 4

Ivan scowled and wiped his knife off on his coat.

"Now look at what you've done," he sighed. "Your blood is going to stain my best knife."The only reply was silence and the stare of a pair of wide, unseeing eyes. Ivan glanced around the area and, after ensuring no one was around, flung the dead body over his shoulder and tossed it into the nearby lake, where it sank and was never to be found again. Well, maybe eventually, but it was of no concern to Ivan. He tucked his knife back into his pocket and returned the old, abandoned building only four miles away with nothing but three thousand dollars on his mind.

"Back _already_? Did you dispose of it properly? Did you-?"

"The kid is dead. That is all that matters to you," Ivan interrupted. "Now, let's get to the important matters at hand."

The man hidden in the shadows of the room smirked, letting out a chuckle. "Not to be distracted, I see," he commented with a fake lightheartedness. With a small kick, a briefcase was sent sliding across the floor toward Ivan, who reached down to pick it up. "Three-thousand. And I may have even added an extra five-hundred. Think of it as a tip."

Ivan's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and he froze for a moment. After a short pause, he rolled his eyes. "Why the games? What else do you want?"

"I'm offended. What's wrong with throwing in some extra-?"

"Because you wouldn't do that if you didn't want something. Just tell me what you want and stop wasting my time," Ivan snapped impatiently, rolling his violet eyes again. Another lighthearted chuckle made itself heard, only making Ivan more irritated.

"Alright, alright. You know, they say curiosity killed the cat. Fortunately, I'm not a cat, so I feel perfectly confident in letting my curiosity get the best of me and-"

"Why must you be so tedious? Your curiosity might not kill you, but I might if you don't get on with it already," Ivan sighed through clenched teeth. It wasn't a hollow threat, either. He had no problem with killing this man now and taking the money.

The man sighed, his humor lost. "Information," he said simply. "You worked for man back in Russia. Name was Abramov. Had quite a few people killed."

"Yes, I was the one who killed him, as that's clearly what you want to know. Idiot decided to give me only half of what he owed me, so I killed him and took everything he had." Ivan smiled as if he was remembering a fond memory. It sent chills down the man's spine and he swallowed nervously.

"...R-Right." Ivan chuckled and left the building without another word.

Ivan had to sneak inside his house; it was four in the morning, and both Natalia and Kat would be in bed now. Hopefully, Natalia had actually fallen asleep for once instead of hiding in some corner and waiting for him. Those encounters were almost always less than pleasant, at least for Ivan. As he slipped into his bedroom, he found himself thinking about Gilbert. What would he think if he knew Ivan killed people- and made money from doing it? He would probably get terrified and never come within fifty feet of him for the rest of his life, Ivan realized with a chuckle. He slipped the briefcase of money under his bed and continued thinking about the albino. It wasn't the best idea, as he found himself unable to sleep because he couldn't get Gilbert out of his head. He smiled as he remembered how cute Gilbert's face was when he'd kissed his forehead. It was also cute when he'd confessed his sexuality, and even when he was rambling about how 'awesome' he was, even though it was annoying as well as cute. Actually, pretty much everything about the German was adorable...

And so, Ivan was very tired the next morning, having gotten no sleep whatsoever. Everyone else at school, however, was wide awake. It seemed like everyone was nervous, and almost...scared. Even Gilbert, who Ivan found talking with a few of his friends.

"Do you think he just ran away?"

"Maybe he was murdered..."

"Oh, please. That's ridiculous."

"Well, maybe he-Oh, hey Ivan!" Gilbert waved him over. "You heard about Toby, didn't you?"

Ivan shook his head, rather confused. "Who? All I know is everybody's acting weird." The name did seem familiar, but with only a first name to go by, he couldn't be sure.

"Alright, so apparently this guy Toby Garret goes to our school, and he never made it home last night. According to his friends, he rides the bus to his neighborhood, but walks through the woods to get to his house. And they saw him get on the bus, but never made it home. Crazy, right? Some people think he ran away, some people are even saying he got killed!"

Ivan was only half-listening. Toby Garret? The name was horribly familiar. In fact, he knew exactly where the boy was. Unfortunately, there was no way in hell he was telling anyone. "...That's unfortunate. I hope they find him..." he replied quietly, his fingers crossed in his pockets. That was opposite of what Ivan hoped. He remembered dumping the kid's body in the lake the night before, and tried his best not to smile.

Gilbert noticed a stain on Ivan's coat, and poked the spot the curiously. "Hey, Ivan. What's that? It wasn't there yesterday," he said.

Ivan shrugged, pushing the fact that it was Toby Garret's blood to the back of his head. "My granddad's a drunk," he lied easily. He wasn't sure if his granddad was a drunk or not, as he had yet to really talk to him for more than two minutes, but it was irrelevant. "He spilled some wine yesterday, that's probably it." Honestly, Ivan was getting tired of anything and everything surrounding Toby Garret. So, he grabbed Gilbert's arm and pulled him away from his friends, towards the bathroom.

"Ivan? What the hell are you doing? Let the awesome me go!" The German protested, trying to yank his arm free. Key word being _try_, as Ivan was a _lot_ stronger than him. Ivan smirked and pushed him against the wall. "I-Ivan, I'm serious. Cut it out! Let me go!"

"That isn't what you really want, is it?" he asked innocently, leaning a bit closer. Gilbert stared dumbfounded at the other, looking for words.

"...U-Uh, why the fuck would the awesome me tell you to let me go otherwise? F-Francis is gonna started thinking perverted shit if we d-don't go back..."

"Well, Francis is going to be right." Ivan smashed his lips against Gilbert's before the albino could reply. Said albino froze; however, it only took a moment for him to respond to the kiss and wrap his arms around Ivan's neck. The Russian deepened the kiss further and pressed the other harder against the wall. Eventually, Gilbert pulled back, gasping for breath.

"Th-the bell is going to ring..." he panted. "We have to get to class..." Ivan reluctantly pulled away, also out of breath.

"Why can't we just skip class?"

"Because, I'll get suspended if I do that again. I've already been caught doing that twice this month, Ivan. And I've been late like four times just this week."

"Well, who cares if you get suspended?" Ivan asked, grinning.

"My brother," Gilbert groaned. "He's a huge prick, and if I get suspended again, you don't even want to know how dead the awesome me will be." The bell interrupted the Russian before he could reply. "Shit, I refuse to be late! The awesome me will make it to class!" he declared. "I can get there before the late bell rings!" He ran off while Ivan chuckled, shaking his head before following after the other.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N- "Mon ami" is "my friend" in French for those who don't know**

Gilbert turned around to glare at the Frenchman poking him in the shoulder.

"What do you want now?" He hissed in annoyance between his teeth, glancing nervously to the front of the room at the teacher, who currently had her back turned and was scribbling notes on the board.

"What were you doing with Ivan this morning?" Francis asked in an equally nervous whisper, smirking and raising his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. "Are you two in some secret relationship I should know about?"

"No! I'm not gay, Francis!" Gilbert lied quickly, feeling his face burn almost immediately. Maybe he responded a bit too quickly; at least that was what the look on Francis' face told him. He averted his eyes from his friend's knowing gaze and felt his face grow even hotter. "Shut up!" the albino whispered suddenly, much to Francis' amusement.

"I didn't say anything, mon ami," The blonde replied in amusement, grinning slyly and giving Gilbert a wink before pointing towards the front of the room and looking back down at his paper. Gilbert got the message and turned around just in time for the teacher to send him a warning glare before writing more notes on the board, which he copied down as quickly as possible. As he was messily scribbling the notes down on his paper, a small, folded up slip landed on his desk. He would have turned to glare at Francis, but instead nonchalantly unfolded the sheet of paper.

"What were you doing with Ivan this morning~?" The slip of paper read. Gilbert's face flushed again, but he rolled his eyes and wrote the reply,

"Nothing. He just wanted to ask me about the math homework," he improvised, then dropped the paper onto the floor and kicked it backwards, where it was caught by Francis. The Frenchman purposely dropped his pencil so he could pick it up, and sent a playful poke at Gilbert's ankle before sitting back up. The German groaned in annoyance and rolled his eyes again. Before he could even begin to go back to his notes, the ominous slip of paper was tossed onto his desk again.

"Don't hand me that bullshit~! Tell me what you were really doing! You weren't fucking, were you? You just met him!"

Gilbert felt like screaming in rage and ripping the paper into millions of tiny pieces, and then ripping Francis into millions of tiny pieces. And then maybe rip some other things into millions of tiny pieces. He broke his pencil while writing his reply because he was baring down too hard on the paper. He was surprised the pencil hadn't snapped in half, however, and snagged his pen.

"No, you dipshit! I'm serious, we weren't fucking! And I'm not gay! I'm way too awesome for something like that!" The albino dropped the slip onto the floor and kicked it backwards again. Thankfully, the bell rang before Francis had a chance to reply, and he raced out of the classroom before his 'friend' could say anything to him. He was unable, however, to get that morning out of his head.

"Hell," he thought to himself. "If Ivan's just gonna start making out with me randomly it won't be too long before we _are _fucking. He already basically raped my lips, why not go for my ass next?" he thought sarcastically. Then, a similar but much less sarcastic thought crossed his mind, and he quickly forced it away. "No, no, no, no, no, and...no," he mumbled out loud, the quiet sound blocked out by the loud voices in the hallway. He realized he was walking rather slow, and sped up to prevent being late again; he forgot to look where he was going and bumped into the person in front of him.

"Sorry," the albino said instinctively, and went to walk around whoever it was, but was pulled back by the collar of his shirt.

"Hey! I said I was sorry, damn! Wha- Oh," Gilbert rolled his eyes and yanked himself free, glaring at the Russian smiling down at him. "What?" the German groaned, moving to the side of the hallway to avoid running into anybody else. Ivan followed him, still smiling, and said nothing; the silence bothered Gilbert worse anything the Russian could have said. "What?" he repeated louder, his face glowing red. The longer he looked at the Ivan the more prominent the memory of that morning was in his mind.

"Oh, nothing," Ivan said finally, the smile still making the German want to strangle him. "Just wanted to see if I could get a repeat of-"

"No!" Gilbert interrupted him, crossing his arms. "I didn't even want to do that this morning! You can't just drag me into a bathroom and-and-start...doing that...and-I don't even...w-we're not even-" The Russian laughed at the look on Gilbert's face.

"Calm down," he said, still chuckling. His tone was harmless, but the wide grin on his face was anything but innocent.

"Calm down?! Fuck you, you're the one who-"

"You didn't even let me finish! I was _going _to ask for a repeat of last week, but if you'd rather duplicate this morning I'd be more than happy to oblige." The albino's eyes narrowed.

"What are you talking about, 'last week'?" he asked, now curious, but still cautious, as if he were standing next to some assaulter.

"You know...this," Ivan answered quietly, leaning down to brush his lips against the German's forehead.

"O-oh...th-that," Gilbert muttered, his blush darkening. The Russian smiled and then tilted the albino's chin up with his thumb and fore finger, pressing their lips together lightly. "I-I didn't say you could do that!" the German shouted once Ivan had pulled away. The taller boy shook his head and grinned.

"Well we could always repeat this morning if-"

"N-No! That was...uncalled for!" Gilbert never though he would have found himself saying that phrase; it was something his brother said to him every other day, not something someone as 'awesome' as he was would say. He glanced at his watch and his eyes widened. "I-I've gotta go!" he said quickly, racing down the now almost empty hallway. Ivan watched him run down the hallway at full speed for what seemed like millionth time.

"He really ought to manage his time more wisely," the Russian mused to himself before also heading to class. He honestly didn't care about being late; he would probably be moving back to Russia within the next two years anyway. "Which means I'd better act fast with Gilbert..." he sighed out loud. "I can't convince him to move back to Russia with me if we're not in a...more _committed_ relationship..." he chuckled with a simper, reaching into his pocket and reading over a tiny scrap of paper.

"...we weren't fucking! And I'm not gay!" Ivan read, shaking his head.

"Not yet, but we certainly will be before too long, Gilbert..."


	6. Chapter 6

"You aren't going to graduate if you keep this up!"

"Keep what up, exactly?! Just because I'm not home doesn't mean I'm not studying! I'm passing my classes, and I haven't had any detention in almost three months!"

"How do I know you're not getting into trouble in the middle of the night?"

"Why are you worried about what I do? I'm the older brother, not you!"

"If you're the older brother then why don't you ever act like it?"

Both Ludwig and Gilbert were fuming. It seemed that they were always bickering, but it wasn't often their fights became this heated.

It was true that Gilbert hadn't been coming home until late at night for the past few weeks. He'd been lingering outside the school with Ivan until almost midnight every night and naturally his brother wanted to know what was going on. Gilbert, however, wasn't exactly keen on letting slip what he was doing. Ivan hadn't ever met Ludwig, but the albino couldn't help but feel as if they wouldn't get along. Not only that, but he couldn't tell his brother that he was gay.

Or anyone else for that matter.

Ivan had, of course, been complaining about keeping their relationship secret, but Gilbert wasn't about to budge. He was already raising suspicion in Francis and even Antonio, and he knew he'd be given even more hell from his friends if he came out. The Russian demanded that he stay longer after school to compensate, even though they'd been staying after school until ten, and now it was midnight before Gilbert got home.

Ludwig was still ranting on and on about responsibility and maturity but Gilbert had already tuned it out. He'd had enough of being treated like a child by his younger brother, and honestly he was about ready to leave the house.

"I would rather live under a bridge than with this asshole…" The albino huffed under his breath, giving up on even pretending to listen and leaving the room. Ludwig might have yelled at him again, something along the lines of "get back here, I'm not finished with you," but Gilbert honestly didn't care. He ignored his brother and slammed the door to his room shut with a loud,

"Fick dich, Ludwig!"

He sat on his bed and couldn't help but start imagining his little brother's death. He felt like stabbing those blue eyes out and taking an axe and knocking his head right off his shoulders. He took joy in the knowledge Ludwig was currently also angry. For some reason, it was just comforting to know that he'd made his brother angry. In fact, he felt like making him even angrier. He just wanted to piss him off even more. It was all he could think about; he couldn't even process logic at the moment, so he opened his window, shouted another insult at his brother, and jumped.

_hey ivan….meet me outside the school, k?_

Gilbert texted and practically ran towards his and Ivan's meeting spot, not even bothering to wait for a reply. When he did hear his phone go off with an answer he didn't bother to read it. He was both too upset to do so and too sure that it was something like "On my way" or "I'll be right there."

Ivan, meanwhile, could almost taste that something was wrong with Gilbert from the text message alone. He also jumped out of his window to race to the school, making sure to leave a note explaining where he was (a lie, of course) to his older sister.

When he reached their usual meeting place, he saw Gilbert leaning against the wall, waiting. His face was red and he almost appeared to shaking, his eyes brimming with hot, angry tears. He looked as if he were literally about to explode; Ivan could practically see steam rising from the German.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he approached the albino, placing a hand on his shoulder and kissing the top of his head. "You do realize it's one in the morning, right?"

Gilbert waited a moment to reply. "…I can't go back to my house right now. If I do I might kill my brother."

Ivan blinked several times, taken aback by the flatness of the other's voice as he said it. The way his crimson eyes were fixed on the ground was unsettling, and the way they snapped up suddenly to look up at the Russian in sudden realization was even more unsettling. "Actually, I think I'm going to kill my brother."

"No, you're not. You're going to tell me what's wrong and what your brother did," Ivan replied, rolling his eyes and stepping in front of Gilbert, placing his hands on either side of his head. "What happened?"

"Ludwig's a son of bitch. Story time's over. Now let me go so I can go hang him with his own intestines."

"That was mildly disturbing to think about…Now tell me why Ludwig's a son of a bitch."

"He's a son of a bitch because he can't mind his own goddamn business. There."

"Seriously, tell me. You called me all the way out here at one in the morning; I at least expect a good story out of it," the Russian said half-jokingly. "If you don't tell me I'll just go home."

Before he could even finish the word "home," Gilbert grabbed onto the sleeve of his coat and glared up at him, his eyes flickering between angry and scared.

"Don't…." The albino swallowing before mumbling, "I don't want to be by myself…" he averted his eyes to the ground again.

Ivan sighed, and then chuckled. "Well tell me what the hell is going on with you. One minute you look like you're ready to murder someone and the next you're acting like a child who just had a nightmare."

"…Lud knows I've been staying after school with you. He yelled at me for like half an hour about me getting into trouble and getting arrested and shit. He basically accused me of being some deadbeat."

"Well," Ivan replied, "He's worried about you."

"Well he doesn't need to! I'm the older brother, not him! Fuck him, why does he have to worry about what I do all the time? Hell, if I wanted to go do drugs and get arrested then I damn will, and I don't need his fucking permission!" Gilbert's voice had risen significantly in volume and he looked like he was about to turn around and throw his fist into the brick wall behind him.

"Calm down," Ivan said quietly, pulling the German into a hug. "He's your brother. Just because he's younger doesn't mean that he can't be worried about you. My little sister is constantly wondering what I'm doing. In fact, she's more like a stalker than a sister. But it's okay, because that's just how she shows that she….loves me." The Russian held back a shudder.

"Yeah, but…Ludwig wants to know what I've been doing and I don't want him to…find out we've basically been making out until midnight every night for the past few weeks." A light blush dusted Gilbert's face and he mumbled almost incoherently. Ivan smirked and took the albino's chin in his thumb and forefinger before softly connecting their lips.

"Don't worry about it. Just lie and say you've been helping Antonio with his math homework. It would probably take all night to teach that imbecile his times tables."

Gilbert smiled lightly and wrapped his arms around Ivan's neck while the Russian's hands rested on his hips. "I don't think Lud would fall for that one. I'll tell him we were out getting some groceries," he joked. "And then I'll say we already ate it on the way back to explain why we have no groceries."

Ivan laughed and connected their lips briefly a second time. Right as he pulled back, however, the German whined in annoyance and grabbed the back of his head, forcing him back into a more passionate kiss. Ivan happily returned the kiss with more ardor, pushing Gilbert harder against the wall. The albino grunted and tried pushing him back to gain dominance, but was easily overpowered by Ivan.

After a moment, Gilbert broke the kiss, panting. "W-we should go," he said, his face bright red.

"Why?" The Russian droned in a complaining tone. "Don't tell me you actually care about what your brother would say if he found out you were gone?"

"N-No, of course I don't. It's just…We've already does this once today. I'm being too generous with my awesomeness. You can't just expect to be able to make out with the awesome me whenever, wherever!"

"So what you're saying is…you're embarrassed because you're getting aroused and you're not ready for sex. Quite understandable," Ivan smiled.

"Wh-what?! N-No!" Gilbert's face went a brighter red than his eyes instantly. "What are you talking about?! I-I…I don't…"

"Calm down, Gilbert. Don't be so embarrassed," Ivan leaned down to plant a quick kiss on the albino's nose, and then began walking away. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

_This is too perfect, _Ivan thought to himself. This was going to be easy. He had to do two things. One, keeping making Gilbert get flustered and aroused but keep him reassured that everything's fine. Two, make sure that he was unaware that the Russian killed people for a living (something Ivan felt terrible for, but knew he could never tell the albino.)

_Then I can fuck him and bring him back to Russia with me. _

Gilbert sighed and slid down so he was sitting against the wall. "How the fuck did he do that? He literally just…read my mind or something…" He muttered out loud to himself, knowing there would be no one around to hear him. He sat there for a moment before deciding to go try and sneak his back into his house. He'd cooled down enough by now and hopefully Ludwig had too; unless he'd noticed that the albino was gone again and was now even angrier at him.

He stood up and jogged back to his house, where all the lights were off. He bit his lip and opened the door, silently creeping to his room. Well, almost silently, if not for his phone going off at full volume.

"What now?" He hissed through his teeth as he ran into his room and shut the door.

_I love you, Gilbert. Good night. _

"You almost got me caught by Ludwig for that, Ivan?" he whispered to himself as if his voice would reach the Russian through his phone.

_I love you too. Thanks for almost getting me caught._

He hit send and tossed his phone onto the bean bag in the corner before tossing himself onto his bed and immediately falling asleep, feeling absolutely exhausted.

Gilbert found himself pinned to the wall in the bathroom the next afternoon.

"What? We already have to keep things to ourselves, and now you're saying you-"

"You got to kiss me twice yesterday! So you've already have yours for today. Besides, I should try to get home earlier today."

"That's not fair!" Ivan shouted.

"Yes, it is! I called you back yesterday to talk to you and you started attacking my face again like some hungry hyena!"

"Well you wouldn't talk to me, so I figured I might as well get something out of it."

"You got to be in my presence, which should be enough."

Ivan sighed. "Fine. But tomorrow you're staying with me an extra thirty minutes."

"Whatever," Gilbert muttered and finally managed to push the Russian off of him just as the final bell rang. "You're ridiculous," he said, shaking his head and leaving the bathroom. Ivan grinned.

"I know," he chimed as the German left the bathroom and made his way to his house. He hated the fact that was going home earlier just to please his little brother. It made him feel like he was being too obedient. It made him feel like his brother's bitch. So, he decided he would still be late. Not quite as late as midnight, but late.

So he took the long way home through the woods.

"Fuck you, Lud!" He called out as he entered the woods, as if making a statement by taking the long way home. The albino laughed and continued walking, lingering around a bit to text Francis. He purposely stalled, hoping to not make it to his house until dark. He was happy with himself, immensely, and couldn't help but grin. Until, of course, he heard a twig snap. Gilbert froze and his eyes widened.

_It's just a squirrel, _he told himself. Then he heard human voices. _Ok, so it's not a squirrel. Probably some kids from the elementary school down the street. _The voices got louder, and were unmistakably voices of gruff males. Fully grown, muscular, men. _Alright, so they're grown men. So? They might be hunters or something. _

"Man, I heard something," a voice said.

"Was it a person? I bet they got cash on them," answered a second voice.

"Let's go take it then," the first voice replied.

_Right. They're people hunters. And I'm about to be robbed. And I'm fucked._

Gilbert sighed and quietly walked onward, hoping he could be quiet enough to convince the muggers he was nonexistent. _They won't see me. They'll just go on their merry way, and leave me alone._

"There he is!"

"Shit!" Gilbert yelled out loud and began running. The muggers, who were much faster than him, chased after him. It took about a fraction of a second before the albino found himself in a very sticky situation. "Fuck off! Hey! Give that back!" One of them pinned his arms behind his back while other snagged his book bag from him and began searching it.

"What's he got?" the one pinning him asked.

"Nothin' but school stuff so far…" the other replied. "Check his pockets; he might have a wallet on him or somethin'."

"No! Get off of me! Fuck you!" Gilbert protested and the mugger pinning him shoved a hand into his pockets and found his wallet. "Give that back, asshole!"

"Found it, Lenny!"

'Lenny' smirked and took the wallet, both of them ignoring Gilbert's protests.

"He ain't got but twenty bucks in here. Oh well, better than no-"Lenny suddenly fell to the ground face first, unconscious. Both Gilbert and the man pinning his arms behind his back froze as a figure approached them. It was beginning to get dark, and it was rather hard to see. The German sighed in relief when he heard how familiar the figure's voice was.

"Let him go," Ivan said simply. The man immediately released the albino and ran off, leaving his friend behind to lie on the ground.

"…Thanks," Gilbert mumbled awkwardly, rather embarrassed at himself for having to be saved. Ivan stepped forward so he could actually see the other, and smiled, removing a small leaf from his silver hair.

"What are you doing wandering in the woods?" the Russian asked. "It's dangerous."

"I could ask you the same thing," Gilbert retorted, crossing his arms. Ivan froze, urging his brain to form a lie quickly. He couldn't say, "Killing a man," now could he?

"…I was inspecting some trees for science project. It's worth 30% of my grade this semester," his stomach churned with guilt, but he ignored it. "Now your turn. What were you going?"

"…Going the long way home so I'd be late and Lud would get pissed off."

"So you got yourself attacked trying to spite your brother," Ivan sighed and brushed the albino off before picking his book bag off the ground.

"What are you doing with that-?" Gilbert started but was cut off.

"I'm carrying it for you. What, do you think I'm one of those muggers in disguise?"

"Sh-shut up! And I can carry it myself! I'm not-"

"I know you can. I'm just doing for you anyway," Ivan stated simply and slung the bag over his shoulder before wrapping his fingers around Gilbert's wrist and pulling him through the woods. "Now come on, it's getting late. I think you've had enough danger for one day."

"I'm not helpless, you know."

"I know that."

"Then why are you dragging me?"

"Because, I don't want you to fall and hurt yourself. It's dark and there are branches all over the place."

"I'm not going to fall! I'm not four!"

"I know you're not four, Gilbert," Ivan sighed. "I'm just worried about you."

"Well don't be! I don't-"

"Are you saying you don't want me to care about you? I love you, Gilbert, how do you not expect me to worry?"

"Because I can take care of myself! The awesome me does not require-"

"You really looked like you could take care of yourself back there," Ivan said sarcastically. "Just can it for once and let _me_ take care of you, okay? Besides, if you don't shut up I'll just start carrying you."

"So?"

"I'll carry you all the way to your house, and I'll make sure Ludwig sees."

"You wouldn't fucking dare!"

"Try me," Ivan said menacingly, which finally made the German stop talking.

The Russian released the other's hand and helped him pull his book bag over his shoulders once they'd reached the outside of his house. It was completely dark at this point.

"Try not to fight with your brother, okay?" Ivan advised, kissing Gilbert's forehead. "He cares about you."

"Whatever," The albino replied, reaching up on his tiptoes to press his lips against the other's.

"You're almost too short to kiss me," Ivan teased with simper. He leaned down to properly press their lips together, and then ruffled Gilbert's hair. "Your brother is going to be worried. You should go."

"Right. Well, see you tomorrow, I guess," the German grinned at the other. "…I love you…"he mumbled before turning around and walking to his house.

"I love you, too, Gilbert," Ivan called before making his way to his own house.

Gilbert shut the door and turned to find Ludwig glaring at him with his arms crossed.

"I saw you kissing that guy just now."


	7. Chapter 7

Lenny sat up, groaning and rubbing the back of his head, which was aching and throbbing in pain. He shook his head to wake himself up, and then got to his feet.

"E-Eddie?" he called into the darkness. He received no reply from his friend, and that was when he began remembering what had happened to him. "That son of bitch ran off once that big guy showed up, didn't he? What a pussy." Lenny sighed and brushed himself off before wandering through the trees, trying to find his way out so he could go back to the old abandoned house he called his home. As he walked, he found himself growing angrier and angrier at the albino kid he'd tried to steal from. The boy was the only one who had ever gotten away from him. Ever.

"I swear I'm gonna kill the little bastard," he murmured under his breath, tightening his hands into fists and throwing a punch at a nearby tree in rage. Growing tired of aimlessly wandering in the woods, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone (well, not really _his; _he'd stolen it a few months back from a twelve-year old.) He stopped for a moment and quickly dialed Eddie's number.

"'Sup?" a familiar voice finally answered.

"Eddie. Thanks for leaving me back there, son of a bitch," he growled sarcastically.

"Aw, man, sorry 'bout that. You was knocked out, so I didn't think it was good idea to hang around when that big Russian guy showed up."

"He was Russian? How do you know?"

"'Cause after he hit you he started talkin'. The accent was really thick."

"Hm. Well, that kid we tried to steal from. He was German, right?"

"Yeah, he was German. Albino, too. What's it matter?"

"I'm not letting' him get away. He's got to go to that high school not far from the woods, so I can just hang around till I see him."

"What? Ya gonna kill him or somethin'?"

"Nah, I ain't got to kill him. Just get him alone and take what he's got, probably kick his ass while I'm at it. Anyway, how many albinos do ya think go to that school?"

"He's probably the only one. Being albino's real rare or somethin', right?"

"Yeah. Just pick me up from the woods, alright? It's too fuckin' dark to see anything around here. Bring a flashlight, will ya?"

"You got it, Lenny. Just give me like twenty minutes."

"Right." Lenny heard his friend hang up, and then put his phone back in his pocket. He sighed and continued wandering around the woods, waiting to see the glow of a flashlight or hear Eddie's voice.

"Wh-what? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb, Gilbert. Who was it that you were kissing just now?"

"I wasn't kissing anyone, Lud!" Gilbert could feel his face go red, but he ignored it, hoping that his brother wouldn't notice. Ludwig raised an eyebrow at him; the look on his face told the albino he wasn't going to get away with this one.

"I _saw _you. Why are you lying? And I know it was a guy too; he was taller than you. Now who was it?"

Gilbert was quiet for a moment before replying. "N-Nobody you know…J-just someone from school."

"And his name…?"

"What's it matter to you anyway?!" The albino snapped, the blush spreading to his ears and neck. He turned away to hide it and contemplated whether or not he should just run upstairs and lock himself in his room. It took him only two seconds to conclude that it was a good idea and then made his way to the staircase, ignoring the questioning look his brother had. The only word going through Gilbert's head at the moment was _shit. _It even escaped his mouth a few times once he'd reached his room and started pacing the floor of his bedroom. "Shit…shit…shit…"

He yanked his phone from his pocket suddenly and texted his…'boyfriend' (a word which, for some odd reason, was still strange for the albino to use) as fast as his thumbs could form words.

_Ivan you son of a bitch get your ass back at my house right now or so help me god I'm gonna rip out your entrails._

Ivan, meanwhile, hadn't quite reached his own house yet when he received the text. His eyes widened at the message and he couldn't help but feel just a little taken aback, but he nevertheless turned around and made his way back to Gilbert's house, while replying,

_What's wrong? _While the question wasn't quite as…emotional…as the German's had been, Ivan felt that it sufficiently got his point across, despite not being as loutish. It seemed to only take two seconds for his phone to start ringing again with a reply.

_I'll tell you what's wrong you fucking bastard. You can't keep your mouth off of me for five seconds so my little brother fucking saw us kissing. So YOU are going to come sort this shit out, not me._

Ivan blushed as he read the text, and began walking a little faster, only taking half the time to get to the albino's house as it had taken to leave. He was panting by the time he reached the driveway, and didn't bother looking around for a ladder to sneak into the window with. He instead boldly knocked on the front door, taking a deep breath and praying that Gilbert would be the one to open the door.

_Come on, Gilbert. Don't be sulking in your room; don't be sulking in your room…_

Never had the Russian been more thankful to see those red eyes in his life. Gilbert grabbed his scarf and yanked him in the house before he could say a word, and slammed the front door shut.

"Alright," The albino whispered. "Lud's in the living room. YOU are going in there, and you're going to explain what the hell we were doing in the driveway. Rule number one: We. Were. Not. Kissing. Got it?" Ivan nodded.

"But, uh, what exactly _were _we doing, then, if not kissing?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

"That's for you to worry about. Now get in there!" Gilbert stood behind the Russian and pushed him into the living room, where the younger Beilschmidt brother sat reading a book. He lifted his blue eyes from the page and raised an eyebrow at the obviously very nervous Russian.

"Gilbert, this is the guy you were making out with, right?"

"NO!" Gilbert shouted indignantly. "Go on, Ivan. Explain."

"Yes, I'd love to hear what kind of nonsense you told your boyfriend to tell me," Ludwig sighed, shaking his head and putting his book down. "Look, please, save the bullshit story. I don't care if you're gay, alright?"

Ivan remained silent; he simply waited for the two to stop their bickering, and honestly, he was just grateful that he didn't have to say anything at all. In fact, if the two wanted to continue fighting, that was fine with him. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Gilbert to poke his chest rather harshly and snap him back into reality.

"Tell him I'm not gay!"

"He's not gay," Ivan said automatically. He wasn't sure what exactly they were arguing about anymore, having not been paying attention, so he simply went along with whatever Gilbert told him.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Oh, _that _was really convincing. Thanks a lot," he groaned sarcastically.

"Save it, Gilbert. I still know you're homo even without his terrible lying. Why don't you just come clean about it? I'm sure your boyfriend here isn't too happy with having to keep quiet just because you're still in the closet," Ludwig sighed. "Besides, why are you even trying to hide? I already told you I don't give a damn if you're gay."

Defeated, Gilbert paused for a moment. "B-Because…You'll tell someone else and-"

"No, I won't," Ludwig interrupted. "As long as he's not abusing you I don't care." The statement almost seemed to be directed toward Ivan, as if the blonde was warning him.

Now Gilbert actually looked defensive. "Ivan is not abusing me. He saved me from some assholes earlier, so there." The Russian went red immediately.

"Well, I wouldn't say I _saved _you…I helped you out, but-"

"Shut the fuck up, would you?" Gilbert interrupted. "I'm trying to defend you here."

"At least you're finally out of the closet," Lud muttered with a bit of a smirk. The albino's mouth dropped open, but he said nothing; what could he say? His brother was right, after all: he had all but admitted it not five seconds ago.

"Don't tell anybody," Gilbert stated quietly. Ludwig laughed a bit and then stood, leaving the room.

"Just don't start making out on the couch," he called as he went to his bedroom. Gilbert sat on the couch and buried his face in his hands. Ivan stood there for a moment, and then sat beside the albino, wrapping an arm around him. The German didn't respond, and only leaned his head against Ivan's shoulder, still hiding his face. The Russian gently tugged his hands down and saw how red his face was; Ivan hadn't before thought it physically possible to blush this hard.

"Gilbert…calm down, your brother said he didn't care, and he's not going to tell anyone."

"I know, but…he still saw us kissing, and now he probably knows what I've been doing with you behind the school, and-"

"Calm down," Ivan interrupted, tilting the German's chin up with one finger and pressing their lips together briefly. Gilbert was now visibly shaking and once the kiss was broken, he went back to hiding his face. "You're being ridiculously embarrassed for no reason," The Russian stated, once again pulling his hands away from his face. "Stop hiding. Your brother's not even in here anymore…Why don't we go to your room, okay?" Gilbert only nodded, not daring to look at his boyfriend. Ivan stood up and pulled the other to his feet. "Come on…Where's your room?" he asked softly.

"Upstairs," the albino muttered in reply, still looking at the floor to hide his face. Ivan once again tilted his chin up, forcing the German's gaze towards his own.

"Would you stop hiding? Please?" he pouted a bit, and briefly pressed his lips against Gilbert's forehead; the action made his face go a shade darker and he suddenly grabbed Ivan's hand and pulled him upstairs to his room, locking the door behind them.

"There's no way in hell I'm gonna stay out behind the school with you, not now that Lud knows what I'm doing," he said simply, crossing his arms. "It's too mortifying."

"Then I can sneak here after school and your brother will never-"

"Don't even finish that sentence, Ivan. Are you fucking serious?"

"Well, my grandparents don't care what I'm doing, and your door has a lock on it."

"Isn't your little sister really obsessive?"

"She can't do anything about what I do. I mean, she's handy with a knife, but-"Ivan froze mid-sentence. Gilbert furrowed his eyebrows, confused.

"Handy with a knife? What's she doing with knives?" he asked.

"U-Uh…my dad wanted her to defend herself, so he taught her how to use knives and daggers and such," the Russian lied quickly. His heart was thumping in his chest, and he almost sighed audibly in relief when Gilbert nodded, believing him.

"Well, whatever. Anyway, my brother better not ever find out if you sneak over here. And I mean _ever."_

"Don't worry, he won't," Ivan chuckled and stood up, ruffling the albino's hair and then walking over to the window. "Just make sure to leave the window unlocked," he added with a wink. Gilbert blushed and looked away.

"Get the fuck out of here," he snapped.

Ivan woke with a start to find everyone in the classroom leaving and the final bell ringing. He stood from his desk and hurriedly gathered his notebook, then dashed out of the classroom. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, mainly because he'd had some money to pick up on his way home and also because he was more than a little worried about Gilbert. Why had he been so embarrassed even after his brother told him that he didn't care that he was gay?

"In fact," the Russian thought, "he was avoiding me this morning, too. I'll have to ask him about it later. He better have left the window unlocked; I really don't want to try sneaking in through the front door." Ivan glanced around the hallway, looking for silver hair and red eyes, but found nothing. He sighed and sped up, not caring that he was bumping into people left and right, and made his way to the German's house.

Meanwhile, Gilbert was lagging down the hallway, not looking forward to coming home and finding Ivan probably already in his room, probably accompanied by a plethora of questions. Questions that the albino didn't want to answer, like "Why were you so embarrassed?" and "Why were you avoiding me this morning?" He could already hear Ivan's voice asking him these questions, and he sighed. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer, but rather he didn't _have _an answer. He didn't know _why_ he was so ashamed that his brother knew he was gay; he just knew that he was. He also had no idea why he-

His thoughts were immediately cut off when he saw a familiar figure leaning against a wall. His mouth dropped open and he almost froze, but he realized quickly that he didn't want to be noticed. He instead sped up, wanting to run but knowing he had to act nonchalant.

"Holy fuck, it's the mugger from last night," he muttered out loud to himself. He turned around to glance at the figure, and then quickly turned back around. "He's probably going to try to stalk me," he sighed, trying to gather his wits and formulate some kind of plan. He turned a corner that would eventually lead to the other side of town; hopefully he'd be followed and the mugger would think he lived somewhere he didn't. Then, he could stop somewhere and call Francis to pick him up in his car, and he'd lose the guy. He ran the plan over in his head. It wasn't foolproof, but it was better than just walking home and leading some dangerous man straight to his house. The albino stopped at a corner and pulled out his phone, dialing Francis' number quickly.

"Hello? You've reached Francis-"

"Francis! You still have your cousin's car, right?"

"Yeah."

"I need you to pick me up."

"Why? Can't you get your boyfriend-?"

"Now's not the time! I'm at the corner of the street Alfred used to live on a few years back. Just hurry up and get here!"

"Alright, alright, what's the rush? You sound like you're being chased by a murderer."

"I'm possibly being stalked by one. Now hurry up. I'll explain later." With that, Gilbert hung up his phone and sighed, turning around to see the mugger now leaning against a nearby tree. His heart skipped a beat and he gulped, taking a deep breath and silently wishing that Francis and his car could teleport. Though not quite as fast as teleportation, it only took about two minutes for the Frenchman to pull up to the corner and unlock the car door. His blue eyes glanced around the area.

"Where's the stalker guy?" he whispered as Gilbert hurriedly got in the car.

"Over there, by the tree," the albino replied as Francis drove off. "He attacked me last night and then I saw him against a wall near the school. I didn't want to lead him straight to my house, so I just turned the corner. Awesomest plan ever, but what else do you expect from the awesome me?"

Francis started laughing. "You're in a life or death situation and you still act this cocky."

"Because the awesome me is invincible, duh."

"Right…Anyway, I noticed something." The smirk on Francis' face told Gilbert that he probably didn't want to hear what his friend was about to say. "On the phone a few minutes ago, you never denied that Ivan was your boyfriend. You just said, 'now's not the time.' So, does that mean-?"

"Are you fucking kidding me? How could you pay attention to something like that when I'm being stalked by some mugger guy?"

"Because you hadn't told me about the mugger guy yet; and you should know I _always_ pay attention to things like that."

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Whatever. We're on my street, I can walk from here. I don't think my awesomeness can stand being in an unawesome car any longer."

"Alright then. Next time I'll just leave you to take care of your own problems."

"Oh, fuck you!" Gilbert opened the door and jumped out, sticking his middle finger up at the Frenchman, who stuck his tongue out before driving off. The albino chuckled to himself as he walked into his front door, making sure to lock the door behind him and check the windows for any sign of stalkers or murderers or muggers or anything of the sort before dashing upstairs into his room.

There was, however, one tiny detail he forgot about.

"Hello, Gilbert~"

Gilbert screamed and jumped out of his skin. "SHEIßE!"

"Calm down, sheesh. Why so jumpy?"

"Fuck…I didn't know you were here _already_…I was stalked by one of the mugger guys from last night so I had to-"

"What?! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just lead him to the wrong street and then had Francis come pick me up in his car- well, his cousin's car, whatever."

Ivan suddenly stepped closer and grabbed him by the shoulders, violet eyes scrutinizing him.

"U-Uh…I-Ivan? What are you…doing?"

"Making sure you're not hurt."

"Why the hell would I be hurt?"

"I don't know. I'm just checking anyway."

"Well, I'm fine so you can let go of me now-"

"Gilbert, are you home yet?" a voice called unexpectedly from downstairs.

"U-Uh, Yeah, Lud!" The albino replied. Footsteps were heard coming up the stairs. "Get in the closet!" he hissed at Ivan, pushing him inside the closet and shutting the door right before his brother walked into his room.

"Hey, why was the front door locked?"

"O-Oh, I, uh…must have locked it when I came in, sorry. The awesome me was just securing the household!" Gilbert laughed, trying not to sound nervous or suspicious. "Could you get out now? I have homework to get started on."

"Really? But it's Friday. What teacher gave you homework over the weekend?"

"M-My language teacher gave the awesome me an essay like a week ago and it's due Monday. I haven't started it yet, which is why I want you to leave!" Ludwig shook his head and left, shutting the door behind him, while the albino smirked and opened his closet door. He pulled Ivan out of his closet and was immediately pushed onto his bed and pinned down. The Russian leaned down to press their lips together briefly, grinning.

"So," The albino said quietly. "What do you wanna do now?"


	8. Chapter 8

** A/N- There's a little, tiny bit of smut in this chapter. And it's not good. Like, it sucks. And it's short, too. But I tried. Eventually there will be some worthy smut in this story. Maybe. And possibly some worthy other stuff, too. Also, this chapter is a little late, I'm sorry. I've also noticed these chapters keep getting gradually longer, which is weird. **

"I can think of a few things to do. I'm just not sure if you'd want to do them," Ivan replied. The albino pulled his eyebrows together curiously.

"What do you mean?"

Ivan blushed softly, but then grinned mischievously. "I mean exactly what I said. Are you awesome enough to do something a bit…different from usual?"

"I'm awesome enough for literally everything in the universe," Gilbert remarked quickly. "So what exactly are you talking about?" He didn't think for a moment that he would regret the statement later. The Russian's grin widened and he sat up suddenly.

"Are you _sure_?" He asked, sounding slightly more serious. This made the German a bit more nervous and hesitant, but he nevertheless nodded and kept the arrogant and ever-present smirk on his face.

"Of course the awesome me is sure!" he shouted, sitting up beside the other.

"Okay then," Ivan said energetically. He wrapped an arm around Gilbert's waist and pulled him effortlessly onto his lap, chuckling at the look on albino's face. "What's wrong? I thought you said you were awesome enough for anything," he teased.

"I-I am awesome enough for anything," Gilbert snapped, before admitting under his breath, "You just caught me off guard."

Still grinning, the Russian slipped a hand under the other's shirt, earning a surprised gasp. "Did that catch you off guard, too?"

"U-Uh…Yeah," Gilbert squirmed a bit and turned his head away to hide the darkening blush on his face as he felt Ivan's hand slowly inch its way down his stomach. "Wh-What are you doing?"

"What, are you scared?"

"O-of course not."

"Do you think I'm going to hurt you?"

"…No."

"Then relax." Ivan kissed behind the German's ear, making him shudder.

"Why are you doing this all of a sudden?"

Ivan shrugged, moving his hand lower. "I felt like it, I suppose," he said simply. "Are you still awesome enough for it?"

"Y-yeah, of course." Gilbert's eyes fluttered shut when the Russian's hand rested on his groin and started gently palming him through his pants. He bit his lip to stifle a moan and squirmed a bit more. Ivan laughed quietly at the albino's cute reactions and then slowly unzipped his pants, his own blush darkening as he revealed Gilbert's semi-erection.

"You're absolutely sure you want this, Gilbert?" Ivan asked, softly kissing his nape.

The German gave a quick nod. "Y-Yeah."

_It won't be too long before he lets me fuck him, _Ivan thought to himself as he wrapped his fingers around Gilbert's member and began stroking it slowly, rubbing the tip with his thumb. The German bit his lip harder, trying as hard as he could not to moan as he was coaxed into a full erection.

_ This isn't going to be hard at all. All I have to do is wait just long enough so he knows I'm not only with him for sex. _

"Come on, don't hold back," The Russian whispered, running his tongue along the shell of his ear. "I want to hear those cute noises of yours." He turned the light strokes into fast pumps, hoping to elicit a sound from the albino, who was finding it harder and harder not to let out any noise. He clenched his hands into fists and bit his lip to the point of drawing blood, and the pain from the broken skin made him gasp slightly. Ivan sped up his ministrations even more, which caused Gilbert to allow a small moan to escape his throat. Smirking, the Russian continued picking up speed, in turn making Gilbert moan louder.

Because he didn't want his brother hearing anything, the albino tried to keep his voice from escaping him too much, but as he felt his lower body tightening and heating up, he found it harder to keep quiet.

"Ivan…I… I'm close…." he whimpered. Ivan sped up a bit more and started sucking harshly at his neck, making sure to leave a mark.

"Then come for me," the Russian crooned, gently pressing his teeth into the flesh of Gilbert's neck. And that is exactly what the German did, his release ejecting from his member onto Ivan's hand as he moaned the taller boy's name. Coming off his high, he collapsed and fell back against Ivan's chest, completely spent.

"Are you okay?" Ivan asked gently, kissing his temple.

"Th…the awesome me is always okay," Gilbert panted, not bothering to open his eyes.

Ivan chuckled lightly. "Alright. I'll be right back; I need to go wash my hand," he said in a half-teasing tone.

"If Lud sees you I will cut your throat open," the albino stated simply, lying back onto the bed and turning over. He would have fallen asleep if he weren't paranoid that the Russian would be caught by his younger brother. Then the idea crossed his mind that his brother would know what had just happened, and the simple thought was enough to make his cheeks burn. It was bad enough that it had happened at all. In all honesty, the only reason he went through with it was because…

He paused for a moment, thinking. _Well, I'm a stupid, horny teenager, so there's reason number one, _was the first thing to come to mind. _And…I love him…it hasn't been that long, but…Hell; I admitted to my brother I was gay because of him, that's proof enough. _

The Russian returned the bedroom quickly, Ludwig still completely unaware of his presence. Sneaking around a house without being caught was easy for Ivan; after all, he'd had years of practice with sneaking around and doing things he wasn't exactly supposed to do. He sat on the bed and poked the almost-asleep German's cheek multiple times, hoping for a reaction. He was ignored initially, but after a few moments, to his amusement, Gilbert opened an eye and swatted his hand away in annoyance.

"What?" he groaned tiredly.

"Nothing; just seeing if you were awake."

"Yes, I'm fucking awake."

"Good. Do you want to go somewhere tomorrow?"

"Okay." The albino spoke with a less-than-enthusiastic tone.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm tired." Ivan grinned.

"Do you hate me?"

"What? No. You wore me out, that's all." The grin widened.

"Can I wear you out again sometime?"

"Not if you keep asking stupid questions just to annoy the shit out of me."

"But it's fun."

"Not for me, it isn't."

The Russian checked his watch and then leaned down to kiss the other's forehead. "I have to go. I'll come by tomorrow and I'll take you somewhere, okay?"

"Where?" Gilbert asked, curiously.

"I don't know. Wherever you want to go." Ivan ruffled the silver hair and snuck over to the window. "I love you."

"I love you, too," The German replied before Ivan stepped out onto the roof.

"Why are you acting so nervous? You're worrying me." Ivan and Gilbert had decided on going to the mall. Gilbert had suggested it because he thought that since it was crowded, the stalker from before wouldn't find him easily. However, he had told Ivan that he wanted to go because he had some gift cards he needed to spend, which hadn't really been a lie. What _was _a lie was that he'd told Ludwig he was going to hang out with Antonio.

They were currently sitting on a bench in a corner; the mall was so busy that nobody was paying them any attention and they were virtually secluded. Despite the mall being crowded, Gilbert was still on the lookout for anyone who even remotely resembled his stalker.

"I'm not acting nervous," he said quietly, averting his eyes from Ivan's worried gaze.

"Yes, you are. Tell me what's bothering you or I can't help."

"I don't need your help, because nothing is fucking bothering me."

The Russian sighed, knowing that Gilbert was going to be stubborn. "Fine. Don't tell me. But I'll still find out either way."

"How the hell do you expect to do that?" The German gave him a confused look.

"It won't be that hard. I could always ask your brother or one of your friends, because they've known you for a long time and would probably be able to tell what's on your mind. Or to make things really simple, I could just tickle it out of you." Ivan simpered and poked at the albino's side. Said albino twitched and glared at him. "You will not."

"Watch me." Ivan poked his side again, making him twitch again.

"Stop it! Fine, I'll fucking tell you. You fucker."

"I told you it wouldn't be that hard," The Russian gloated for a moment, but then returned to looking concerned. "So what's wrong?"

"Alright…remember the guy that jumped me and was following me yesterday?"

"Yes. He hadn't figured out where you live, has he?"

"No. I'm just kind of…paranoid he's going to find me. That's why I suggested the mall, because it's crowded and he won't be able to find me so easily."

Ivan sighed and pulled the albino into a brief hug. "That's all you're worried about? You should have just told me. Do you really think I would ever let anyone hurt you? If you want I will go find this bastard right now and kill him."

Gilbert shuddered to himself; Ivan sounded completely serious and it was a bit unsettling. "N-No, the awesome me can handle myself. I don't need you to go around killing anybody."

The Russian almost laughed at the irony in the other's words. He ruffled the albino's hair and placed a quick kiss on his forehead, and frowned slightly when he saw his eyes glance around nervously. "Stop worrying. You're safe, okay?"

"I-I know that," Gilbert retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Stop treating me like a four-year old. I'm too awesome for that." He looked down to hide the blush he knew was on his face.

"I'll stop treating you like one when you stop acting like one," Ivan replied, tilting the albino's chin up with his index finger and briefly connecting their lips. Though the mall was crowded and no one was paying attention, he still didn't want to make _too _much of a scene, and so he kept the kiss fleeting. He smiled at the darkening blush on the other's cheeks. "You're so cute," he remarked, poking his nose.

"I am not. Shut up."

"But it's true. It's so easy to make you blush."

"How does that make me cute?"

"It just does. And your skin is so pale, so your face gets darker quicker. Like right now. Whenever you get mad, your face gets red. Then all I had to do was kiss you and now your face is as red as your eyes. It's adorable."

"No, it's not."

"Yes it is."

"You can't prove it."

"You can't prove that it's not."

"The awesome me can do whatever the hell I want."

"Except prove that you're not cute. You can't prove something that isn't true."

"But it is true, because I'm not cute. And I can prove it, because I'm awesome."

"Then do so."

"…. I don't feel like it. So fuck off."

"Alright then. I'll just leave you here…all alone…" Ivan smirked and stood up, counting back from three in his head. Right when he mentally said one, he felt Gilbert grab his scarf and pull him back.

"Nein! You can't do that!"

"Why not? You told me to 'fuck off,' so I'm just-"

"No! …I wasn't serious, dipshit!"

The Russian smiled and ran his fingers through his hair, chuckling. "Calm down, I was joking."

"The awesome me knew that."

"Sure you did," Ivan agreed sarcastically. He grabbed the German's hand and pulled him to his feet. "Come on, if you don't get back home soon your brother will probably try to contact Antonio and find out you're not with him."

"Then I'll just tell him I was with Francis," Gilbert said simply. "Like, 'Hey Gil I called Antonio and he said you weren't with him.' 'Oh, I said Antonio? I meant to say Francis, ha-ha-ha.'"

Ivan rolled his eyes. "Right. He'll believe _that _for sure. It's getting hot in here from all these people, let's go."

Gilbert held onto the other's hand as he was practically dragged out of the mall. "Well why you don't ever take your coat or scarf off?" he asked.

Ivan bit his lip. Most of his weapons were underneath his coat, and he always kept those with him just in case of an emergency. "…I just don't want to take it off," he muttered. The German decided not to pry, and changed the subject.

"Well how come you're so eager to leave all of a sudden?"

"If your brother finds out you're not with your friend, you'll sulk for days. I'd rather not deal with that. So, I'm going to get you home before it's been too long and Ludwig gets suspicious." Gilbert thought for a moment, and found a lot of logic in his boyfriend's sentence. He laughed to himself as the two walked out of the building.

"It's true," he admitted, thinking back to all the times he'd sulked for weeks on end for things he now thought were stupid. Of course, just because he'd realized they were dumb by no means meant that he'd matured in any way.

"I know; that's why I'm taking you home."

The two crossed the parking lot and made their way a few streets over to Gilbert's neighborhood, their conversation returning to arguing over whether or not the albino was cute.

"You can't fucking prove it!"

"But you can't prove it either. And you can't see yourself directly, only reflections and pictures. So that means I know better than you do."

"No you don't!"

"Yes I do. In fact, you're blushing right now, and it's absolutely adorable."

"Fuck you, I'm not adorable. I'm awesome."

"You can be awesome and adorable at the same time."

"Nein. They're like opposites. It's a contradiction."

"So you can't be both?"

"No."

"Then I guess you're not so awesome after all, if you can't do everything."

It took Gilbert a moment to grasp Ivan's meaning. "I can do everything. That doesn't mean that I do it. I _could _be awesome and adorable at the same time if I wanted to. I just don't feel like it."

"But you _are _awesome and adorable. So that means that you do things without wanting to, which means you can't handle your own awesomeness. And not being able to handle your own awesomeness isn't very awesome."

"No, I…it's…Sometimes my awesomeness is overwhelming. You wouldn't understand what it's like because you're not as awesome as I am."

"So you just came up with an excuse for being awesome and adorable at the same time, and therefore admitted to be awesome and adorable at the same time."

"Fuck you, I did not. I'm not both at the same time!"

"So you're just adorable, then?"

Gilbert had just about had enough of the pointless conversation, and growled under his breath while the Russian started laughing. The albino punched his arm (Ivan had to keep from commenting on how weak the punch had been) and started pouting.

"Sulking like that is only making you cuter, you know." The Russian leaned down to kiss his nose and opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. He checked the Caller ID and sighed. "It's my older sister. Hang on a second," he said before answering the phone.

"Da?" There was brief silence before Ivan said something else, in fluent and rapid Russian. It annoyed Gilbert slightly that he couldn't understand what the other was saying, being the naturally curious person he was, but he figured it wasn't anything too important. After a minute or two, Ivan hung up the phone and frowned.

"What's wrong?" The German asked.

"Natalia's sick, and she won't let Kat take care of her. I have to go do it since I'm the only one she'll listen to," Ivan sighed and kissed Gilbert's forehead briefly. "You can make it to your house without me, can't you?" he teased.

"The awesome me is perfectly capable of everything," the German smirked arrogantly.

"Are you sure?" Ivan sounded a bit more serious.

"Yes, I'll be fucking fine! I'm not four! Now go take care of your sister!" Gilbert pushed him towards the direction of his house.

"Alright, fine. I love you," he said as he walked off.

"Love you too," the albino called, making his way down the street to his own house. As soon as he turned onto a different street, his phone starting going off. He pulled it out to see a text from Ivan.

_I'll see you on Monday, my adorable little rabbit. _

Rabbit? How the hell was he a rabbit? And for the hundredth time, he wasn't adorable. Or little, for that matter. He sighed and felt a droplet of water hit his hand. Looking up, he noticed it was getting cloudy and would probably start raining before too long.

_Go fuck yourself. I'm not adorable, or little, or a rabbit. Where the hell did that even come from?_

He didn't bother putting his phone back in his pocket, knowing it wouldn't take long for the Russian to reply.

_You are adorable. We already went over that. You are also little, because you're even shorter than your brother is and he's two years younger than you are. And you remind me of a rabbit, because of your hair and eyes. _

Gilbert turned onto his street and started texting a reply, one filled with colorful vocabulary, and told Ivan to take care of his sister instead of texting, which the Russian must have done, because he didn't reply. The albino walked in his front door and kicked it shut, glancing out of the window to see if it the sky was getting any cloudier. Upon doing so, he saw a figure standing near a bush that made his heart skip a beat. How could he have forgotten? The figure moved and crossed the street, then ran around the corner and was gone.

_The stalker knows where I live. I'm so fucking stupid. _

"Gilbert, are you okay? What are you looking at?"

The albino screamed and jumped about a foot in the air, turning to see his brother standing next to him and looking at him with a worried look.

"I-I…The awesome me is fine! I thought it started raining when I walking home from…Antonio's, so I was checking to see if it was going to rain!" he explained. It wasn't a total lie.

"Right…Did you finish that homework assignment you were talking about yesterday?"

Gilbert paused for a moment; he was positive he didn't have any homework this weekend.

"…Y-yeah, I got it done," he lied, still trying to remember what the hell Ludwig was talking about.

_Homework assignment?...Oh! The one I told Lud I had to do so he'd leave me alone when Ivan was in my closet! _Gilbert sighed and ran a hand through his hair, going to his room so he could worry about his stalker. _What the hell am I going to do? Was he following me when Ivan was around? Ivan would know if we were being followed, though, wouldn't he? He's creepy like that. Should I call him?...No, I can't, his sister is sick. I don't want to worry him anymore than he already is. Damn! _

"I'll just tell him Monday, if his sister's feeling better," he mumbled out loud, lying on his bed and telling himself to go to sleep.


End file.
